British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he will travel to the United States in September and ask President Donald Trump to hand over some of America's Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine before the start of winter, he told Bloomberg.
Burnham said he plans to attend the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September, which would be his first visit to the United States since taking office as prime minister of the United Kingdom.
He said he was looking forward to the trip to New York in September. He said the final itinerary had not yet been agreed, but that after talks in Kyiv he understood which issues needed to be resolved in the coming weeks.
Coalition of the willing to meet in New York
Burnham said European leaders were considering holding a new meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing in New York during the UN General Assembly. One of the main topics, he said, could be finding additional interceptor missiles for Ukraine's air defences, particularly American-made Patriots.
He said that appeared to be the most likely direction events would take, though nothing had been confirmed, adding that most current thinking seemed to be heading that way.
UK's limited stock of Patriots
Burnham said the United Kingdom does not hold the specific type of Patriot missiles that Ukraine needs. However, he said London could still influence other European partners that are able to contribute such munitions.
He stressed that reaching an agreement could require a lengthy negotiating process involving several countries.
The Patriot is a US-made air defence system produced by the American defence contractor Raytheon. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has repeatedly urged the United States and European countries to help increase Ukraine's stock of Patriot interceptors ahead of winter, and the systems are among the key tools Ukraine uses to shield its cities from Russian ballistic and cruise missile attacks.
Optimism after Kyiv visit
Following a visit to Kyiv, Burnham said he felt genuine optimism about the possibility of resolving the shortage of interceptors.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the United Kingdom could not supply Ukraine with the missiles it needs directly, meaning European countries would have to coordinate their efforts and negotiate with the United States.
Burnham's pledge to Ukraine
After taking office, Burnham said the United Kingdom would support Ukraine fully and remain by its side in its hour of need, despite threats from Russia.
Separately, the UK government said on 24 August that it would share with Ukraine details for producing the long-range SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
